The Bulldog softball team delivered four shutouts this weekend at the Bulldog Classic tournament. Mississippi State hosted Evansville, Rutgers and SIU-Edwardsville, and the Bulldogs came out on top.
State opened the tournament with a win against Rutgers Friday night. The team played especially strong in the sixth inning, receiving three runs on RBIs from Jessie Spain, Kaili Smith and Chelsea Bramlett. Smith earned another RBI in the seventh inning after hitting a pop fly to center field. The Bulldogs ended the night with a 6-0 victory against Rutgers.
“I couldn’t ask for better. We hit well, and our defense played very good,” head coach Jay Miller said.
The Bulldogs began Saturday’s play with a win against Evansville. They started off strong, gaining two runs in the first inning. Bramlett singled to the right and scored on a home run by Ali Bainbridge two batters later.
In the sixth inning, Jessie Bailey gave State another home run. She hit to right center, earning two RBIs. The Bulldogs walked away with a 7-0 win.
Later that day, Mississippi State defeated SIU-Edwardsville 3-0. Bainbridge and Courtney Moore both earned RBIs in the first inning, and Allie Heon scored off Brittany Bell’s pop fly during the sixth inning.
“Edwardsville was much better than we expected,” Miller said. “They are new to Division 1; this is their first year, but they are a very good club.”
Saturday’s wins gave State a spot in the championship game Sunday. State played SIU and once again walked away with a win.
On Sunday, Bramlett scored the Bulldogs’ only two runs. Bramlett scored in the first inning off Bainbridge’s pop fly to left field and again in the sixth inning off Courtney Nesbit’s single to left center. Mississippi State captured the championship with a 2-0 win over SIU.
“Our pitching was great this weekend, and we really drove in some runs,” Bramlett said. “SIU was a good team, and I think they helped us get ready for upcoming SEC games.”
Bramlett said she believes her team could have executed much better. She said it did not blow the competition away like it should have.
“We only got two to seven runs a game, and we definitely could have gotten much more,” she said.
After the championship game, Bramlett was named MVP of the tournament. Bramlett said she feels she and her team played exceptionally well.
“We had some timely hits, and our defense and pitching were great,” she said.
Mississippi State’s next game is in Itta Bena Wednesday against Mississippi Valley State.